The Unwilling Queen
by wildgirlN
Summary: Samantha the Dragon-Cat woke up one day in a strange world where Scourge the Hedgehog is king and her friends are his servants. Now, she must convince her friends to escape with her, before Scourge forces her to become his queen. Rated T for possible mature themes. Contains OCs.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi readers! It's me, the author. This is my first story on FF, and I'm still learning the ropes, so cut me a little slack, okay? Thanks!**

**Samantha the Dragon-Cat belongs to my friend, R.**

**Saffy belongs to my sister, L.**

**Wildcat belongs to me.**

**Scourge the Hedgehog and other canon characters belong to SEGA.**

Samantha the Dragon-Cat opened her eyes. The sun was shining and Flickies were singing. She got out of bed, threw on a t-shirt and shorts and went outside.

She rubbed her eyes. What was going on? Yesterday, the area around her house had been nearly deserted. But today, there were guards in black uniforms patrolling up and down, everywhere. Maybe it was some new Castle Acorn development. She shrugged and starting walking to her friend Saffy's house.

She arrived at Saffy's house and knocked on the door. A pink echidna in peasant dress opened the door. "Um… who is it?"

Samantha frowned. "Uh… is Saffy here?"

"Saffy?" The echidna tilted her head. "Who is… Saffy?"

"The girl who used to live here," replied Samantha, perplexed.

"I've lived here for years," the pink echidna said, equally confused. "There's never been a 'Saffy' living here…"

"Oh… well… okay. Sorry to bother you." Samantha walked away as the pink echidna shut the door.

What was going on? First guards appear all over the place, and then Saffy's house is suddenly occupied by someone else! Samantha pondered this as she walked back to her house. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. "Excuse me, miss," said one of the guards. "You're walking on private property."

"But this is the path I always use to get home."

"You're walking on his Majesty's property," continued the guard. "Please move to a public area."

"King Acorn owns this path?" Samantha asked.

The guard looked confused. "Who's this 'King Acorn'? I think I should take you in for questioning, young lady."

"What?" Samantha spread her wings, ready to fly away if necessary. But the guard snapped a pair of handcuffs over her wrists and suddenly she couldn't move. The guard tossed her over his shoulder and carried her away to Castle Acorn… or whatever it was now. She tried to yell or hit him or do something, but her body wouldn't respond.

Soon, they arrived at the castle. The guard standing at the gate let them inside, and after the gate had been closed, the guard took off the handcuffs. Samantha frowned. "Why am I here?"

"For questioning," said the guard, but he sounded guilty, like he was lying. He grabbed Samantha's arm and starting pulling her through the castle. She had no choice but to follow him.

They arrived at two tall, ornate wood doors. The guard spoke to the guards standing there, and they opened the door. The guard shoved Samantha through the doors and she fell on her knees. "For questioning, your majesty," said the guard, before slamming the doors shut.

"Well, well. What a pleasant surprise." The figure on the throne before her stood up and stepped into the light.

"Scourge the Hedgehog," breathed Samantha. "Same to you."

Two figures stepped up next to Scourge, and Samantha got a real surprise. They were her friends, Wildcat and Saffy. "Yes," said Scourge. "I think you'll make an excellent queen."


	2. Chapter 2

Samantha stared at her friends. What were they doing here? And why were they dressed so strangely? Saffy was wearing a loose, white dress that looked like it should have come from the Roman era. She was holding a large, expensively decorated fan.

Wildcat, on the other hand, was dressed in some kind of ninja outfit, with leader pads on various parts of her body. She had a sharp, curved knife in each hand.

"Wildcat? Saffy? What are you doing here?" Samantha asked slowly.

Saffy tilted her head. "…Majesty? Who is she speaking to?"

"Don't worry about it, Sapphire," Scourge replied, obviously referring to Saffy. "My new queen is just a little… disoriented."

Samantha stomped her foot. "About that; I am not your queen, and I never will be!"

Scourge adjusted the crown on his head. "I doubt it." He turned to Wildcat. "Guardian Maria, please escort my new queen to her chambers."

Guardian Maria bowed briefly to Scourge, then took Samantha's arm firmly and led her out of the room. Samantha struggled fiercely, yelling, "I'll never be your queen, or my name isn't Samantha!"

Scourge only smirked. "Thank you, my dear, for telling me your name."

Before Samantha could respond, Guardian Maria yanked her out of the room and slammed the doors shut. "Okay, what's going on here, Wildcat?!" demanded Samantha, trying to wrench herself from Guardian Maria's grip.

Guardian Maria started to pull Samantha down a hallway, regarding her with an unimpressed gaze. "My name is Guardian Maria. I do not know this 'Wildcat' you speak of."

Samantha groaned. "But… you were my friend… You were on my team…"

"You are obviously delusional," replied Guardian Maria calmly, still pulling Samantha along.

"I'm not delusional!" snapped Samantha. "I knew you! I know you're only three-fourths cat, and you hate eating meat, and you have an irrational fear of fire, and-"

Guardian Maria whirled to face her. "How do you know these things about me?!"

"I told you!" exclaimed Samantha. "I knew you! You were my friend! But for some reason, you don't remember me!"

Guardian Maria muttered something under her breath and dragged Samantha to a large wooden door. "Here is your room." She opened the door, and Samantha peered in. It was a bedroom fit for… well, a queen.

Samantha folded her arms. "I don't want to be a queen."

Guardian Maria pushed her into the room. "Too bad." She slammed the door shut, and Samantha heard her barring it.

"Great," said Samantha to herself, flopping down on the expensively decorated bed. "Just great. I have no idea what's going on here, Scourge wants me to be his queen, and-" There was a knock on the door, and Samantha looked up. "…Come in," she called after a moment.

She heard the door being unbarred and then it opened. Sapphire came in, carrying a tray of exotic food. "His Majesty asked me to bring you this," explained Sapphire. "He thought you might be hungry." She set the tray of food down on the bed and turned to leave.

"Saffy, er, Sapphire," Samantha began, holding up a finger.

Sapphire turned. "Yes?"

"…Have you ever seen me before?" ventured Samantha.

Sapphire thought for a moment. "No… the first time I saw you was today."

Samantha sighed. "All right. You can leave now."

Sapphire nodded briefly and quietly left the room.

Samantha lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. What was going on here? Why didn't Wildcat and Saffy—that is, Guardian Maria and Sapphire—recognize her? And how did Scourge become king so suddenly? Suddenly, it dawned on her that she might be in an alternate dimension, where Scourge was king and Wildcat and Saffy were his servants. But how could she have gotten transported to this dimension, and why would Scourge be here anyway? He was supposed to be in Moebius. Samantha stared at the ceiling, pondering this strange turn of events, until her eyelids closed and she fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Samantha was awoken suddenly by more knocking on her door. "Come on," she called sleepily, then yawned.

Sapphire came in with more food. "You didn't eat your dinner," she observed, setting the new tray of food on the bed. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains. Light streamed through.

"Yea… I guess I forgot," Samantha admitted, eating a grape from the tray. "Say, Sapphire, what are you? What's your job?"

"I am a maid," replied Sapphire, turning to Samantha. "His Majesty assigned me to care for you."

Samantha ate another grape. "What about Guardian Maria? What is she? What's a Guardian?"

Sapphire chuckled. "You ask many questions, Queen."

Before she could answer her questions, Samantha cut her off. "I'm not your queen."

Sapphire mumbled something under her breath, then answered, "Guardian Maria is his Majesty's personal guard. She goes with him everywhere—that is, almost everywhere—and protects him from anyone who might attack him."

"Really?" Samantha raised her eyebrows. "Is she good at her job?"

Sapphire shrugged. "Pretty good… I've seen her kill."

"Really? Who?"

"Oh, just random people who tried to attack his Majesty…" replied Sapphire vaguely.

"One more question," Samantha began.

"Yes?" asked Sapphire.

Samantha frowned. "Are… are Guardian Maria and King Scourge… in a relationship?"

Sapphire giggled. "Of course not. That would be ridiculous."

"Okay, good," Samantha sighed in relief.

Sapphire gave her a look, then spoke up, "His Majesty has requested that you take a bath and choose a new outfit from your closet. Then you will join him in the Throne Room. He wishes to speak to you."

Samantha gulped. "About what?"

"I don't know," replied Sapphire honestly. "Now, take your bath and change into a new outfit. I'll be outside waiting for you. Let me know when you're done and I'll take you to the Throne Room." With that, she took the old tray of food and left the room.

Samantha sighed and went to go take a bath. The bathroom was easy enough to find. Strangely enough, the bath water was heated by a fire. Samantha wondered if she had accidentally gotten into a Medieval era or something as she turned a handle and water flowed into the tub. After she had her bath, she wrapped a towel around herself and went back into her room to find an outfit. Her closet was filled with some fancy-looking dresses with gems on them. Finally, she selected a light blue dress with a gold collar and green gems. She also put on a pair of light blue flats to match. Then she knocked on the door and called, "I'm ready, Sapphire."

Sapphire opened the door. "Okay. Follow me." She walked off down the hall, keeping an eye on Samantha to make sure that she didn't run away. Samantha reluctantly followed.

They reached the doors of the Throne Room and the guards opened them for the two girls. They entered. King Scourge was seated on his throne, guarded by the ever faithful Guardian Maria. "Hello, Samantha," he greeted her. Sapphire curtsied briefly and left, shutting the doors behind her. "We have some things to discuss, namely, the date of our wedding."


	4. Chapter 4

Samantha folded her arms. "I think I already told you that I am not going to marry you and be your queen."

Scourge grinned. "I think you're gonna change your mind, babe."

"Shut up," Samantha retorted. "I won't be changing my mind."

"Yes, you will," continued Scourge, getting up from his throne and walking closer to her.

"No, I won't!" Samantha exclaimed, punching Scourge and knocking him down. Almost immediately, she found herself being put in a headlock by Guardian Maria. She flinched as she saw how close Guardian Maria's blades were to her face.

"Shall I kill her, your Majesty?" asked Guardian Maria, without the slightest hint of remorse.

Scourge scrambled up from the floor. "No, no, let her go." Guardian Maria released her and Samantha took a couple of deep breaths. Scourge walked over to Samantha and grabbed her chin. "Don't be so feisty, babe. It'll get you in trouble."

Samantha shoved him away. "Get away from me, jerk."

Scourge changed the subject. "I like the dress. It looks good on you."

Samantha rolled her eyes. "I'll be sure to never wear it again, then."

Scourge chuckled. "You really are bent on making me upset, aren't you?"

Samantha shrugged. "Maybe. You did kidnap me."

"Well, I don't suggest it. I do have a girl with a nasty pair of blades at my disposal." He gestured to Guardian Maria, who was sharpening her blades against each other.

"You won't hurt me. You want me to be your queen," Samantha replied, smirking.

"Don't bet on it," chuckled Scourge. "Guardian Maria, show my new queen out. It doesn't seem that she's open to discussing the date of our wedding at the moment." Guardian Maria grabbed Samantha's arm and threw the doors open with the other, then shoved her out, nearly pushing her into the guards outside. As the door slammed behind her, Samantha regained her balance.

Sapphire walked up to her. "Are you all right, queen?"

"Don't call me that," protested Samantha. "Yes, I am all right. That Guardian Maria sure has strong arms, though."

"She practices a lot," explained Sapphire. "Now, come on. I'll take you back to your room."

Samantha followed Sapphire back to her room. "What is there to do around here?" she asked. "Do you have anything to draw on?"

"We have some paper and paints," replied Sapphire. "Do you like to paint?"

"Sort of," Samantha answered. "Could I have some to paint with?"

"Of course." They reached Samantha's room and Sapphire opened the door for her. "I'll be right back with the paper and paint."

"Thank you." Samantha stepped inside and the maid shut and barred the door.

Samantha went to the closet and changed into a pastel blue dress—she didn't want to wear anything that Scourge liked—then lay down on her bed to wait for Sapphire. A minute later, there was a knock on the door and Samantha called for them to come in. Sapphire entered with some thick paper and brightly colored paints. "I also brought you some paintbrushes," she told her, holding up some brushes made with some kind of hair.

"Thank you, Sapphire." Samantha took the paintbrushes, paints and paper one by one and set them on the floor.

Sapphire curtsied. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I don't think so," replied Samantha.

Sapphire curtsied again and left the door, barring the door behind her.

Samantha lay down on her stomach and started to paint. She hadn't done much painting before, but it was fun. Slowly, the strokes of paint turned into a picture of a field of flowers. She set it aside to dry and began to paint a picture of Sapphire, dressed in her Roman dress thing. Next, she painted Guardian Maria, and Scourge lying on the floor after being punched. She lost track of time as she painted, and before she knew it, she heard another knock on the door. Predictably, it was Sapphire.

"His Majesty would like you to join him for dinner in the dining hall," Sapphire told Samantha respectfully.

Samantha rolled her eyes. "Tell him I'm not coming. Oh, and give him this." She handed Sapphire the painting of Scourge lying on the floor.

Sapphire stared at the painting in surprise. "If you say so, Queen." She left before Samantha could protest about the title.

After Sapphire had gone, Samantha piled up a bunch of furniture in front of the door so that it would be difficult for anyone to get in. She suspected that Scourge wouldn't be too happy that she had refused his invitation.

As it turned out, she was right.


	5. Chapter 5

"Open this door!" shouted an angry voice from the other side of Samantha's door. She didn't recognize the voice; maybe it was a guard.

"Make me!" she retorted.

She heard a muttered curse from the other side, then footsteps running away. Probably to inform Scourge of her disobedience. She sat down on one of the chairs she had piled up in front of the door and waited.

Sure enough, after a minute or so, she heard footsteps coming down the hall, as well as a slight whirring that she recognized to be the quick flapping of wings—probably Guardian Maria. There was a knock on the door, then she heard Scourge's muffled voice from the other side. "Samantha, open this door right now."

"Nope," Samantha replied as calmly as possible, trying to annoy him. "You can eat dinner by yourself. I'm not hungry."

She heard Scourge sigh in frustration. "We still have to discuss our wedding."

"What wedding?" Samantha asked, playing dumb. "I don't know about any weddings. Who's getting married?"

She heard Scourge mutter, "I don't have time for this." He continued in a louder voice, "Samantha, get out here, or I'll send Guardian Maria in to slice you."

"She can't get in," Samantha replied. "I blocked up the door. Just leave me alone, okay?"

To her surprise, Scourge growled slightly, then began walking away from her room. She heard Guardian Maria follow him, and after a minute, everything was quiet. She smiled. It seemed she was finally starting to be able to get under his skin.

She lay down on the floor again and continued painting for a while. After a couple of hours, it became too dark for Samantha to paint, so she put her paints, brushes and paper neatly into the closet. Then she lay down in her bed and fell asleep.

Sometime later, Samantha woke up to the sound of a loud squeal outside her door. She glanced out the window and saw the moon high in the sky. She wondered who would be up making noise at such an hour. Quietly, she tiptoed out of bed to the door and put her ear against it.

She heard Sapphire say, "Oh Ter, I'm so glad to see you!" from the hall outside her door.

A voice that seemed familiar hissed quietly, "Shh…"

"Oh, right," came Sapphire's voice. "Hurry, let's go somewhere more private."

Samantha heard two pairs of footsteps hurrying away, a door swinging shut, then silence.

She sighed. Who was that? She banged her fist on the door in frustration. It swung open.

Samantha stared at the partially opened door. Sapphire must have forgotten to lock it. Quickly, she slipped outside and closed her door behind her. Then she tiptoed down the hall towards where she thought Sapphire and "Ter" had gone.

She went the whole length of the hall, but found nothing but more doors. She didn't want to get lost in the castle, so she turned around to go back to her room. Then her ears perked up as she heard voices coming from one of the doors. She snuck over to the door and listened for a moment, then opened the door suddenly. "Gotcha!" she cried. Then she saw who it was, and laughed out loud.

The room was some kind of closet, so there was lots of stuff strewn all over the place. Sapphire was sitting on a box, and _Shadow_, Saffy's love back where Samantha came from, was sitting next to her, wearing black clothing and a black hat. Both of them stared at Samantha in confusion. "Uh… hello… Queen…" Sapphire finally said. "Why are you laughing?"

Samantha stopped laughing. "Oh, no reason." She plopped down on a box next to Sapphire. "So, why are you having secret meetings with Sh—I mean, 'Ter', in the middle of the night?"

Sapphire looked suspiciously from side to side. Then she turned back to Samantha. "Can you keep a secret?"

"No, Sapphire!" hissed "Ter". "We can't trust her. She's Scourge's queen!"

"She doesn't want to be his queen," explained Sapphire. "We can trust her." She turned to Samantha again. "This is Terios. He's the leader of the rebel organization trying to overthrow King Scourge."

Samantha's eyes widened. "There are rebels?"

"Of course." Terios smiled slightly and adjusted his hat. "Wherever there's a cruel and tyrannical government, there will be rebels."

"Like me. I'm a rebel," Samantha told them, wanting to put Terios at ease. "I've never liked the king."

"Will you join us, then?" Terios invited. "You could have incredible influence on political and military affairs as Scourge's queen."

Samantha frowned. "But I'm not his queen. I never will be."

Sapphire suggested, "You could fake attraction for him until the rebels overthrow him."

Samantha's mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me?! I could never fake attraction for that jerk!"

Sapphire sighed dejectedly. "All right. I guess we'll have to live with Scourge's cruel laws and punishments for a couple extra years."

Samantha rolled her eyes at Sapphire's attempt to get her to pity them. Unfortunately, it was working. "Erg… fine! I'll marry Scourge and be his queen. But only to get him overthrown, and I am _not _sharing his bed."

Sapphire smiled and looked up. "Thank you, queen."

"I'm not your queen—yet," reminded Samantha.

Sapphire giggled. "I know." She stood up and stretched. "I need to get back to my room."

"And I need to get back to base." Terios sighed. "My second-in-command will be waiting for me."

Samantha nodded. "Yea, and I should get back to my room as well."

Sapphire gave Terios a quick hug, then the three parted ways. Samantha tiptoed back to her room, went in and got back in bed. Excitedly, she pondered the fact that there was a rebellion that might free her, and anxiously wondered about what being Scourge's queen would mean. Finally, she fell asleep.


End file.
